THE UST Tiger Cubs missed out on a second straight finals berth after their late rally fell short against the third-seed FEU-Diliman Baby Tamaraws, 82-75, in the UAAP Season 88 16U basketball tournament on Wednesday, Dec. 3, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Despite finishing second in the eliminations, the Tiger Cubs lost the opportunity to contest the unbeaten NU Nazareth School Bullpups, which earned an automatic finals slot under the stepladder format.
UST settled for bronze after ending the elimination round with a 10-4 record.
Mythical Five member Rowie Cabañero capped off the campaign with 18 points and nine rebounds, while CJ Tabugga added 14 markers and 14 rebounds.
UST exploded to a fiery start, establishing a double-digit cushion, 21-11, by the end of the opening quarter.
But the Baby Tamaraws charged back, unleashing a 14-4 barrage midway through the second frame to force a 25-all deadlock.
With both sides trading buckets, Gab Castro broke the stalemate with a corner triple before Cabañero drained a pull-up jumper to restore UST’s edge heading into halftime, 39-37.
Tabugga unleashed 11 points in the third frame to hold off the Tamaraws by a slim margin coming into the final quarter, 59-57.
The Diliman-based squad opened the fourth quarter with a blistering 11-0 run to seize a 68-59 advantage. But a timely triple from Castro halted the surge and trimmed the gap to 68-64.
But the Tamaraws answered back as Prince Cariño then imposed his will in the paint, while Dwyne Enriquez drilled a clutch three to restore a nine-point cushion, 79-70.
Cabañero answered in the clutch, delivering five straight points in the final minute to pull UST within striking distance, 79-75.
However, Tabugga and Miguel Jubilado misfired on crucial three-point attempts in the dying seconds, stalling the Tigers’ fightback.
FEU big man Cariño tallied 21 points and 22 rebounds while Enriquez added a game-high 22 markers and seven rebounds.
The Tamaraws will face the unblemished NUNS Bullpups on Saturday, Dec. 6, at the same venue. F
